PRESEASON GAME 6: Celtics at Knicks

by Tommy Dee on October 21st, 2008 at 4:30 pm

WHEN: 7:30PM
WHERE: MSG
WATCH: MSG-TV

Projected Lineups:

Boston

PG: Gabe Pruitt
SG: Ray Allen
SF: Paul Pierce
PF: Kevin Garnett
C: Kendrick Perkins

Knicks

PG: Chris Duhon
SG: Nate Robinson
SF: Stephon Marbury
PF: Zach Randolph
C: David Lee

Injuries:

Boston: Rajon Rondo (ankle)
Knicks: Danilo Gallinari (bulging disk). Jared Jeffries (fractured tibia) is out 6-8 weeks. Allan Houston will sit (quad).

Keep an eye on: The Knicks new starting lineup, as D’Antoni has replaced underperforming Jamal Crawford with Marbury. Also, rumors are swirling that despite a solid game last night, Quentin Richardson has been replaced with Nate Robinson. I wonder if that had to do with Q’s minor meltdown after getting taken out of yesterday’s game. It wasn’t quite Plaxico Burress/ Tom Coughlin, but it was pretty obvious Q cursed out his coach for yanking him.

The Other Blog’s take:

CelticsBlog admits the Knicks are not the same team as last year, and that they simply outplayed the defending champs during the other night’s victory.

“Joining the defending champions in tonight’s preseason finale is division rival New York Knicks, who beat the Celtics 104-97 on Friday night. Simply put, Boston was outplayed by New York on their home floor. The Knicks controlled the pace of the game virtually from start to finish, as Mike D’Antoni’s up-tempo style prevailed.

At the end of the day, it was nothing more or less than a preseason loss, but the Knicks look to be in a much better place mentally than they were a year ago. This is not the same dispirited team that the Celtics took out by 45 points last November. They’ve got a new style, a new attitude, and even a new-look rotation.”

Key Matchup: Just because he said he’d remember, all eyes will be on Kevin Garnett and Wilson Chandler.
  • Chris Alvino

    If this team wants to come back in the second half, they better start knocking down some jumpers. Also, they don’t appear to be running like they have in other games. Are some players angry with their benching, like Crawford and Z-Bo?